Looks like the CIA foiled a potential Al Qaeda plane bomber in Yemen…

From the LA Times:

WASHINGTON — The CIA thwarted an ambitious plot by Al Qaeda‘s affiliate in Yemen to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner using a bomb with a sophisticated new design around the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden, U.S. officials said.

The plot involved an upgrade of the underwear bomb that failed to detonate aboard a jetliner over Detroit on Dec., 25, 2009. This new bomb was also designed to be used in a passenger’s underwear, but this time Al Qaeda developed a more refined detonation system, U.S. officials said.

The FBI is examining the latest bomb to see whether it could have passed through airport security and brought down an airplane, officials said. They said the device did not contain metal, meaning it probably could have passed through an airport metal detector. But it was not clear whether new body scanners used in many airports would have detected it.

The would-be suicide bomber, based in Yemen, had not yet picked a target or bought his plane tickets when the CIA stepped in and seized the bomb, officials said. It is not immediately clear what happened to the alleged bomber.

The operation unfolded even as the White House and Department of Homeland Security assured the American public that they knew of no Al Qaeda plots against the U.S. around the anniversary of Bin Laden’s death. The AP learned about the thwarted plot last week but agreed to White House and CIA requests not to publish it immediately because the sensitive intelligence operation was still under way. Once those concerns were allayed, the AP decided to disclose the plot Monday despite requests from the Obama administration to wait for an official announcement Tuesday.

U.S. officials, who were briefed on the operation, insisted on anonymity to discuss the case.

It is thought that senior Al Qaeda leader in Yemen, Fahd al-Quso, was behind the potential bombing… he had been involved in the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen’s Aden harbor. However, al-Quso was hit by a missile as he stepped out of his vehicle along with another operative in the southern Shabwa province of Yemen.

 

Bomber in Attack on CIA Reportedly Courted as Informant

Truthdig’s “Ear To The Ground” column ran this one today:

clipped from www.truthdig.com According to a BBC report, intelligence sources say that the suicide bomber who managed to enter a military base and kill seven CIA agents in the Khost province of Afghanistan was courted by the U.S. as a possible informant. Oops.  —JCL The BBC: The suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan had been courted by the US as a possible informant, US intelligence sources have said. They said he had not undergone the usual full body search before entering the base in Khost province, and so was able to smuggle in an explosive belt. The attack was the worst against US intelligence officials since the US embassy in Beirut was bombed in 1983.